The reason why you aren't getting much in the way of responses here is because
Frontpage is officially dead, no longer being manufactured, or supported and no
new security updates or patches are being released.

Likewise software vendors and OS makers no longer need be concerned with
remaining compatible with Frontpage Extensions anymore and in fact most
of the latest software updates for Linux and Apache both are no longer
compatible with Frontpage and move away from it in current system changes
and security updates.

Everyone who was using Frontpage was to stop doing so by December 2006!

If you are still using Frontpage beyond it's official death date, you are
basically doing so totally on your own and at your own risk. You can opt
to run it as long as you can but it will inevitably also be removed
completely from Cpanel and all other control panels as well in
forthcoming release updates since it can no longer be supported.

There is some brighter news in that Microsoft has released a new product
to replace the discontinued Frontpage and that product works off of
standardized WebDAV access instead of the old Frontpage Extensions.

There is some brighter news in that Microsoft has released a new product
to replace the discontinued Frontpage and that product works off of
standardized WebDAV access instead of the old Frontpage Extensions.

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Is there other benefits to have WebDAV installed besides trying to help old FP users?
I've been leaning towards keeping things simple with secure LAMP setup, and not worrying about RoR, ASP, or WebDAV.

I have moved a few customers over to MS Expression Web (the replacement of FP) but you need to be more then a novice to learn how to use it and many of the FP features my neophyte customers used, such as picture gallery do not work in MSEW.

I am also wondering what others are telling their customers to use that want to design a novice website on the fly.

That's what I've been doing, telling them that if they have to learn new software anyway, they might as well utilize CMS web software.
It's a great help that MS stopped selling FrontPage in December, because then the reason they have to change is not my fault, and it's not even the natural evolution of the internet and it's technologies. No, the fault can all point to Microsoft. (it gives them a known object to be mad at versus the unknown internet forces.

The problem comes from the learning curve. It's not what they are used to, being an online app.

Benefits:
They don't need to purchase software like Expression
They can edit from any computer, anywhere. So, even at a friends house they can update their site.
PC/Mac, it doesn't matter.
Updates are immediate, since you are working on the live site, but you can also set publish dates for articles if you want.
Usually OpenSource, so an Active CMS program, like Joomla or Drupal, should be on top of any security issues.
The established CMS's have large communities with many add-ons, some free, others affordable.

Negatives:
No matter how easy it seems to us techies, it's a big learning curve for most novices. Unfortunately, a lot of novices don't even use myspace or facebook or any online community , but for some reason they think they should be able to manage a website.
They may need to know what FTP is, if the CMS doesn't have an easy upload feature for the images.
Editing the look. Even with templates/themes available for the CMS, changing the look of them can be daunting for the novice. It may be a simple as uploading their logo in the size of the current templates logo using the same format, name, and location. Simple for us, but the novice might not know what format, understand naming conventions, or know how to find where the logo file is to be replaced.

I end up having to re-do their site for them for a charge. It's good for them anyway, since they get a more modern, more professional looking site. Let's face it, we all know a FP site immediately, which dates it and says amateurs.

But, don't forget that any CMS on the server needs to be updated as patches come out. The novice will ignore any upgrade notices, so you need to stay on top of it and possibly do it for them. But they need to know that security patches are NOT optional.

cPanel 11 does have FrontPage support but don't count on this support lasting forever. As the manufacturer themself is not supporting the product, should any major vulnerability be found - we may need to re-think continuing support for FrontPage.

Sharepoint designer and Expressions are both 2007 products that are built on top of front page extensions.

Only the name Frontpage was discontinued and as a built in feature it needs to be supported or canned end of story. I am having problems with fp extensions on addon domains server wide right now and some of the responses in this thread are less than helpfull.

Staff Member

I've noticed a few people having problems with Rewrite Rules and MSFP. Currently adding rewrite rules breaks frontpage support. (frontpage installs an htaccess file that makes rewrites incompatible. Builds 15252+ will go behind frontpage and auto-fix this after reinsalling extentions.)

You are trying to say that Microsoft only ended support only for the actual name "FrontPage", but not the product itself? That is incorrect.

Their website (the microsoft website) CLEARLY states that they have discontinued support for the Frontpage software including the editor and the extensions.

Just because their new products may be built as an upgrade to their old products does not mean that the old products are still supported or continue to function.

CPanel has left the FrontPage capability built in, probably as a courtesy for now for those who still depend on it. But you must realize that it is unsupported and if you install certain upgrades to your server, it will definately break FrontPage and nobody is working on fixes or updates for it anymore.

If you are having problems with FrontPage, you should discontinue use of it, simple as that. You can not expect help with something that was discontinued almost a year ago. WebDav is the "new" Frontpage Extensions, so to speak, and the 2007 products are WebDav compatible.

What happened to FrontPage?
After nine years of being an award-winning Web authoring tool, FrontPage will be discontinued in late 2006. We will continue to serve the diverse needs of our existing FrontPage customers with the introduction of two brand-new application building and Web authoring tools using the latest technologies: Office SharePoint Designer 2007 for the enterprise information workers and Expression Web for the professional Web designer.

I've noticed a few people having problems with Rewrite Rules and MSFP. Currently adding rewrite rules breaks frontpage support. (frontpage installs an htaccess file that makes rewrites incompatible. Builds 15252+ will go behind frontpage and auto-fix this after reinsalling extentions.)

Click to expand...

I am working on this with PSM, I asked them to enter a ticket with you about this.